In a commonly used construction for such door latch handle assemblies, the shank portion comprises a reduced diameter portion which extends through a bearing aperture in the base plate so that a front face portion of the latter locates against a shoulder at the inner end of the reduced diameter shank portion. The rear section of the shank portion which projects through the base plate aperture has a non-circular cross-section and is fitted with a flat keeper plate or stop plate together with a circlip retaining element which is engaged in a groove or grooves adjacent the rear free end of the shank. The stop plate is arranged to turn with the shank portion and includes stop surfaces arranged to cooperate with abutment means on the base plate (1) for locating the angular position so that the lever part normally extends horizontally and (2) for limiting its angular movement. Although widely used, this known construction has the disadvantage that the retaining means comprises two separate parts, the stop plate and the circlip, which must be separately fitted. Furthermore manufacturing tolerances often produce undue axial play in the handle when the circlip is fitted.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of retaining means for effectively fixing the handle to the base plate which can facilitate assembly and reduce production costs.